Cimarron Model P Junior .32-20 / .32 Magnum

 

by Jeff Quinn

photography by Jeff Quinn & Boge Quinn

January 21st, 2004

 

 

 

With the ever increasing interest in the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting, the selection of nineteenth century style firearms just keeps getting better. The proliferation of lever action rifle and single action revolver replicas seems almost endless, and that is good news for shooters, whether or not they participate in Cowboy Action Shooting events.

The fine folks at Cimarron Firearms in Fredericksburg, Texas has now added another choice with the introduction of their Model P Junior chambered for the .32 WCF cartridge; commonly known as the .32-20. The P Jr. is a scaled down version of the famous Model P, or Single Action Army, sixgun. It has the standard size grip frame, but the rest of the revolver is smaller than a Single Action Army, resulting in a lighter and faster-handling revolver. Like all of Cimarron’s firearms, the fit and finish on the P Jr. is very good. I wish that more of our gun makers would fit their grip panels as well as does Cimarron.

The P Jr. sent to me has a three and one-half inch barrel, but Cimarron also offers this gun with a four and three-quarters or a five and one-half inch barrel. The P Jr. is very close in size to a Ruger Single Six, but the P Jr. has a longer cylinder that easily accommodates the .32 WCF cartridge. It also comes with a extra cylinder chambered for the .32 Magnum cartridge, which will also fire the .32 S&W Long cartridge.

The Model P Jr. is polished blue with a case-hardened frame and hammer. The grips are one-piece,  perfectly fitted to the grip frame, and finished in a high gloss.  The sixgun employs the two-position base pin safety, which allows the base pin to be pushed in to effectively block the hammer from reaching the firing pin. It is unobtrusive, works well, and can be completely ignored if that is your preference. The sample Model P Jr. has a great trigger pull, releasing crisply with a pull weight just under two pounds.

For testing, I gathered a variety of ammunition, including Black Hills factory ammo in .32-20 and .32 Magnum, along with some favorite handloads in .32 Magnum. The gun functioned perfectly with every load tested. Accuracy  was acceptable with this short-barreled sixgun, with all ammo grouping in the two-inch range at 20 yards, with an occasional group hovering around the one and one-half inch mark. Velocity was almost 1000 feet-per-second with the Black Hills .32 Magnum hollowpoint load, and around 700 fps with the Cowboy Action ammunition. Recoil was light with all ammo tested.

As can e seen in the photos, the little Cimarron carries very well in Cimarron's own Tombstone Speed Rig shoulder holster. This is a very well made Old-West style holster, that compliments the P Jr. perfectly.

The .32 WCF is a natural for Cowboy Action Shooters. It is authentic, and the recoil is light. Aside from that, the .32 WCF is a dandy little cartridge, suitable for small game and vermin, and is a real pleasure to shoot.  The Model P Jr. is a great little sixgun, ideally suited to the .32 WCF and .32 Magnum cartridges.

Check out the Model P Jr. and the Tombstone Speed Rig holster online at:

www.cimarron-firearms.com

Jeff Quinn



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Click pictures for a larger version.

 

Cimarron's Model P Junior is a great concept : a scaled-down Single Action Army perfectly sized for the .32-20 / .32 Magnum cartridges.

 

 

As we have come to expect from Cimarron, the Model P Junior is beautifully fit and finished, exhibiting a high level of craftsmanship throughout.

 

 

The two-position base pin allows a measure of safety when carrying the Model P Junior fully loaded. For the traditionalist who prefers to carry the gun as a "five-shooter" (with the hammer down on an empty chamber), the base pin safety is unobtrusive and can be ignored.

 

 

The Model P Junior is equally at-home shooting the .32 WCF (.32-20) or .32 Magnum. Bottom picture shows the .32-20 (left) and the .32 Magnum (right).

 

 

The Model P proved to be reasonably accurate with either cylinder installed. Group at top was achieved using Black Hills' .32 Magnum factory load, and the bottom group was shot with Black Hills' .32-20 ammunition. This is about as well as you can expect to shoot a Model P with authentic rudimentary iron sights.

 

 

Cimarron's "Tombstone Speed Holster" is an authentically-styled, well-made, comfortable and practical concealment rig, suitable for serious concealed carry applications or Cowboy Action Shooting.